NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Goldberg, who served as executive director of the National Basketball Coaches Association for nearly four decades and was revered by many within the game, has died.
His death was announced Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) by the NBCA. It came within a week of two significant honors for Goldberg, with the NBCA announcing plans to begin issuing a coach of the year award in his name and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame revealing that he would be a recipient of the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award later this year.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Goldberg 'was a beloved member of the NBA family and a dear friend.'
The NBCA is dedicating this season to Goldberg. NBCA President Rick Carlisle of the Dallas Mavericks called Goldberg 'a leader, pioneer and trusted friend.' .....»»

CLEVELAND (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs will be without starters Tony Parker and Pau Gasol when they face the Cavaliers on Saturday night (Sunday, PHL time).
Parker was expected to play after being scratched Thursday (Friday, PHL time) with a sore left foot. However, the team said Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) he is still experiencing pain and won't play. The 34-year-old is averaging 11.5 points per game, his lowest since his rookie season in 2001.
Gasol is out indefinitely after breaking his left hand during warmups Thursday night. He underwent surgery Friday (Saturday, PHL time). While the team hasn't put a timetable on his return, Gasol is likely to miss at least one month. He's averaging 11.7 points and 7.9 rebounds.
David Lee is expected to start in Gasol's spot.
The Cavs are hoping to have Kevin Love in the lineup after he missed Thursday's (Friday, PHL time) game with back spasms. He took part in the team's shootaround Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) but is listed as questionable. .....»»

em>By Jon Krawczynski, Associated Press /em>
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio will miss the game on Sunday (Monday, PHL time) against the Denver Nuggets, but it has nothing to do with the trade rumors that have surrounded him of late.
Rubio left the team on Friday (Saturday, PHL time) for personal reasons and will not rejoin the Wolves until late Sunday or Monday, coach Tom Thibodeau said Saturday after practice. Rubio had to return home to Spain, and his brother posted on Instagram that their grandmother had passed away.
Rubio did not play in the second half against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday (Friday, PHL time) because of tightness in his left hip, but Thibodeau said Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) that was not a concern going forward. Kris Dunn and Tyus Jones filled in admirably, helping the Wolves defeat the Clippers, 104-101. Rubio said after the game he was not concerned about the injury, though it did interrupt an impressive run for the pass-first point guard.
In his previous five full games, Rubio was averaging 13.2 points and 14.0 assists, looking more like the playmaker he was earlier in his career.
'I'm playing better, feeling better and the results are there,' Rubio said last week after a win over Oklahoma City. 'But I don't want it to be just a four-game stand. I want to be all season long like that. It's hard. We have a lot of games, but my expectations are high and I keep them high because I work hard to do it.'
It has taken time for Rubio to acclimate to a new system in Thibodeau's first year as coach, leading many across the league to believe that the sixth-year pro could be traded to make room for Dunn, the fifth overall pick in last summer's draft. Thibodeau has historically preferred a point guard who is more of a scorer than Rubio, a career 37 percent shooter and a 31 percent shooter from 3-point range. But shooting has never been Rubio's strong suit. He excels at getting others involved, playing good defense and controlling the tempo of the game.
With the trade deadline less than a month away, and Rubio on a hot streak, trade chatter has expectedly picked up. The Wolves are just 15-28, though they are 9-10 since a 6-18 start. Still, it's clear that they have a lot of improving to do to become a factor in the Western Conference, and Rubio appears to be one of the few assets they are willing to part with that could fetch a decent player in return.
ESPN reported that the Wolves and Detroit Pistons had discussions about a Rubio-for-Reggie Jackson trade, but Pistons coach and team president Stan Van Gundy shot that down on Saturday (Sunday, PHL time).
Van Gundy told reporters in Detroit that he texted Jackson to tell him 'this is the crazy season. We're not trading you for Ricky Rubio.'
Dunn hasn't been any better as a shooter in his rookie season, making 37.6 percent from the field and shooting a ghastly 27 percent from three-point range. But he had played more than 20 minutes in a game just three times in the previous two months before Rubio's injury on Thursday night (Friday, PHL time).
'When you have shorter minutes, you have to try to be more ready,' Dunn said Saturday (Sunday, PHL time). 'Try to go out there and impact the game right away. You can get the feel when you have more minutes, but I understand. Ricky's a great player. I'm just trying to learn off him.'
Dunn likely will start against the Nuggets, with Jones serving as the backup point guard. Dunn said he has been getting more and more comfortable in his first season and will be ready when Thibodeau calls on him.
'I'm starting to understand who I am as a player (and) what's my role on the team,' Dunn said. 'Just figuring out guys, what's their tendencies and trying to understand coach's philosophy.' .....»»

em>By Tom Withers, Associated Press /em>
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — LeBron James might make another run at Olympic gold with Gregg Popovich.
James, who already has two gold medals, said that Popovich taking over as coach of the U.S. team will influence his decision on whether to play in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
'It factors a lot,' James said Saturday as the Cavaliers prepared to host Popovich's San Antonio Spurs. 'I've said that before. He's just a great mastermind of the game of basketball.'
James skipped last summer's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro to get rest after leading Cleveland to an NBA championship. But he's still connected with Team USA and Popovich replacing outgoing coach Mike Krzyzewski could be enough to draw James back to the Olympics.
James will be 36 in 2020, but his game is showing no signs of decay and the three-time NBA champ has relished his previous Olympic appearances. He was a key member of the American teams that captured gold in Beijing (2008) and (2012), performances that helped him and the U.S. squad erase some of the disappointment from taking bronze in Athens (2004).
Krzyzewski, the Duke coach who led the U.S. team to three consecutive gold medals, had a hand in naming Popovich as his successor.
For James, the pick was perfect.
'Team USA is in good hands with him,' James told The Associated Press in 2015. 'It was in good hands with Coach K. It's almost like 'The Godfather.' We hand it off to Michael Corleone now.'
Earlier this week, James said he considers Popovich, who has led the Spurs to five NBA titles, 'the greatest coach of all time. I've said that over and over and over. You have to be sharp, mentally and physically, when you go against his ballclub. If you were an NFL player, it's probably the same as going against a [Bill] Belichick team.
'What they're going to do, they're going to do and you have to try to figure it out.'
James has lost twice to teams coached by Popovich in the NBA Finals — in 2007 with Cleveland and in 2014 with Miami. He admires the way the 67-year-old coach has adjusted and adapted over the years.
'A guy that's been able to do what he's done in an era of basketball where it's changed so much and he's been able to have a growth mindset and be able to change with the game,' James said. 'Obviously Tim Duncan was a huge part of that because Timmy was allowed to change with the game as well, but he's just continued to build around Timmy and Manu [Ginobili] and Tony [Parker] and bring pieces in and out throughout his whole tenure.'
On Saturday (Sunday, PHL time), the Spurs will play their first game without center Pau Gasol, sidelined indefinitely with a broken left hand.
James said that won't change San Antonio much — because of Popovich.
'It doesn't matter who is in the lineup for the Spurs,' James said. 'They'll play Spurs basketball and Pop will have them ready. I mean, what's their record, 33-9, I believe? And if you asked me how things would change without Timmy D., they still pushing forward, man. It's just nothing out of the ordinary.' .....»»

Close to 400 of the best cockers and gamefowl breeders in the United States, the Philippines and other countries will fight it out with their roosters in this year’s World Slasher Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City which starts tomorrow......»»

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 21 January) &'8212; The docking at a private port here of a cargo vessel manned by 23 Syrian nationals on Friday, June 13, alarmed the security sector as four of the names were reportedly similar to terrorists on the government's watch list but the Bureau of Immigrations and the National Bureau [&'].....»»

Already with victories versus the league-leaders and the defending champions, Alab Pilipinas are casting their line for another big fish in the 2016 Asean Basketball League.
Ray Parks Jr. and company are in Hong Kong for their first meeting with the Eastern Long Lions scheduled on Sunday.
The Philippines pits its three-game winning streak against a Hong Kong side determined to get back on track at 8:00 PM. All of the action will be broadcast LIVE on ABS-CBN S+A Channel 23 as well as streamed LIVE on sports.abs-cbn.com/livestream/abl.
Since the arrival of American reinforcements Sampson Carter and James Hughes, the Filipinos have yet to taste defeat. Ringing off win after win after win, they have improved their record to 5-2 and their standing to a share of second.
Holding the same card is Hong Kong which wants nothing more than to separate itself once more from its fellow league newcomer. Stinging off another loss at the hands of Singapore, they are banking on homecourt advantage to help them avoid a losing slide.
---
Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo. .....»»

A police official dragged into the killing of a Korean businessman last October said that he was duped and threatened by the prime suspect who is now under the custody of the Philippine National Police......»»

&'160; By JUNE S. BLANCO &'160; &'160; FORTY national government agencies in one-stop shops in Ubay and Talibon towns? Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd District), chair of the House Committee on Science and Technology said the idea is not far-fetched. This after Bohol in the Visayas, Naga in Luzon and Davao in Mindanao [&'].....»»

Grandmaster Wesley So halved the point with less-fancied GM Baskaran Adhiban of India in the sixth round yesterday but still remained in the solo lead of the Tata Steel Masters 2017 in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands......»»